Hard disk drives are used in almost all computer system operations. In fact, most computing systems are not operational without some type of hard disk drive to store the most basic computing information such as the boot operation, the operating system, the applications, and the like. In general, the hard disk drive is a device which may or may not be removable, but without which the computing system will generally not operate.
The basic hard disk drive model includes a storage disk or hard disk that spins at a designed rotational speed. An actuator arm with a suspended slider is utilized to reach out over the disk. The slider includes a head assembly that has a magnetic read/write transducer or head for reading/writing information to or from a location on the disk. The complete head assembly, e.g., the suspension, slider, and head, is called a head gimbal assembly (HGA).
In operation, the hard disk is rotated at a set speed via a spindle motor assembly having a central drive hub. There are tracks at known intervals across the disk. When a request for a read of a specific portion or track is received, the hard disk aligns the head, via the arm, over the specific track location and the head reads the information from the disk. In the same manner, when a request for a write of a specific portion or track is received, the hard disk aligns the head, via the arm, over the specific track location and the head writes the information to the disk.
For many transmission line systems used to convey signals to the slider, the impedance characteristics in the section between the suspension electrical interconnect and the slider are essentially fixed such that compensation networks are used to maximize the signal transfer. Many current compensation networks may include capacitors or inductors and are sometimes impractical to employ, because they add cost and/or can be difficult to replicate in the layout for a given restricted area. Typically, layout replication is done by increasing the overlapping area for capacitive compensation, or by spiral or serpentine layout for inductive compensation. Both capacitive and inductive compensation components consume a significant amount of real estate in the physical layout.